Three days of shameless luxury indulgences and bubbles galore!
Champagne is synonymous with celebration, success and the good life - or 'la dolce vita', the passionate phrase Italians have coined for it. With approximately 58 million bubbles in a bottle - at a pressure about three times that of a car tire - just the sound of a cork popping rings in reasons to rejoice, and makes one feel good to be alive. Bangkok's lebua at State Tower all-suite luxury hotel is now offering a unique, three-night package of shameless indulgence, unrivaled gastronomic highlights and authentic Bangkok-only experiences that comes with - you guessed it - enough bubbles straight from the Champagne region in France to inflate a small hot air balloon!
|
This is after all a hotel renowned for raising the style barometer when it comes to ultimate experiences. State Tower with its fitting golden dome is the city's second-tallest building - a place to live it up, anyone in the know will tell you. Restaurants like Sirocco, Mezzaluna and Breeze (read the review) - up on dizzying heights from where views offer dazzling panoramas that underline the city's vastness - are famous from Beijing to Budapest for heavenly cuisine. Sky Bar and Distil are posh must-be-seen-at places to sip on exotic cocktails or a rare malt whisky, while shucking fresh imported oysters. The abodes themselves are sumptuous and spacious, decorated and fitted out to bring sheer joy to the most discerning traveller (read this hotel review) - all offering jaw-dropping views so impressive that, on a clear day, you can almost see into the future.
|
Now, imagine all of this, with pampering silver service thrown in every step of the way. The kind of service that means everyone knows your name (and how to pronounce it!), but uses that knowledge discreetly and in an unobtrusive manner. You've arrived at lebua, for a one-of-a-kind experience that's going to give you a whole new perspective of Bangkok as a stylish playground to appreciate all the finest things in life - very far removed from Khao San Road's backpacker brigade, cheap street food and tattoo shops. No, wait. The 'Amazing Experience', as lebua calls it, actually starts when you're fetched at the airport by gleaming black BMW 7-series limo, uniform-clad chauffeur at the steering wheel. If first impressions are everything, the chauffeur's crisp white uniform and the luxurious smell of leather upholstery sets the perfect tone.
Day 1: A taste of celebrity status and a kiss on the lips
Everything about this package is designed to give you a taste of celebrity status while indulging in life's finest pleasures. A small welcoming party are all smiles and 'wais' on arrival. A hospitality ambassador accompanies you straight up to your 66-square meter Riverview Suite where check-in requires little else than a quick signature. The schedule for the next three days of luxury indulgences are then drawn up to your specifications and convenience. Minutes later, a butler wheels in your luggage, ready to help you unpack if you so wish. On standby is a chef to assist you in crafting the menu for that evening's dinner at the hotel's award-winning Sirocco rooftop restaurant - the highest outdoor restaurant in Asia. With that out of the way, it's time for "a kiss on the lips", as eating 'Carpentras' strawberries has been lyrically likened too.
|
Imported from Provence, the strawberries are sweet as sin, accompanied by a bottle of either Champagne Krug Grande Cuvee or Dom Perignon - all set up romantically for two on the balcony. Or perhaps, for the sake of semantics, the champagne is accompanied by the strawberries... Either way, my choice falls on a bottle of Dom. "Come quickly! I'm tasting stars!," is how Dom Pierre Perignon, the French Benedictine monk who's credited for the invention of champagne, reacted when he got his first taste. It wasn't quite stars I tasted, but sipping slowly on the champagne and letting the bubbles dissipate in my mouth before swallowing - the correct way of drinking champagne, supposedly - is an enlightening experience.
|
Dinner at Sirocco is one of the finest dining experiences that can be had in Bangkok, one that takes on biblical proportions. As any good chef will tell you, the secret of this caliber cuisine lies in the freshest and best quality ingredients, flown in from the ends of the earth. What follows, spread out over seven courses to be exact, is a gastronomic journey through Japan (live diver scallops with pan-seared goose liver), Israel and Ireland (Jerusalem artichokes cream enhanced with watercress, sauteed Dublin Bay prawn tails), Dover (seared sole with slow-cooked Mediterranean vegetables served on a Riesling reduction - along with a few more stops in Italy and France. The lamb loin, warped in Jabugo ham, 'celeriac' (a type of celery) mousseline, 'crosnes' and wild asparagus in cooking jus is sensational and gets the biggest nod of approval.
|
The lamb hails from a small coastal village in France, the chef told me earlier, where grass fields along the coast are submerged during high tide. As a result, the meat is very salty and hardly any seasoning is added when it is prepared. Complementing this extraordinary dining experience up in the clouds are Chablis 'Vaudesir' Grand Cru 2004, Joseph Drouhin or Gevrey-Chambertin 2004, magical city lights as far as the eye can register, a jazz band with vocalist, and the famous Sky Bar with its illuminated bar counter when a stretch of the legs is called for.
With no end in sight, this perfect evening is still to be rounded of with a Sirocco blend of coffee and handmade Mezzaluna chocolates served in your suite. In the sumptuous bathroom, bvlgari amenities provide further luxury touches, before you can finally call it a day to collapse between 300-thread count bed sheets.
Day 2: Sadistic pleasures en route to The Temple of Dawn
A tuk-tuk ride forms a vast contrast to the classy 'statement' arrival of the previous day, yet it provides a fitting start to a morning of experiencing the charms of old-world Bangkok. Five minutes away is Sathorn Pier, where a private tailboat is stocked with Rose Champagne, pastries, cheese, freshly cut fruit, cold cuts and elegant sandwiches - staffed with, apart from the driver, a lebua hostess and knowledgeable tour guide. No plastic cups or paper plates are in sight, and raising champagne-filled glasses to toast a beautiful morning brings with it a sadistic pleasure to further fuel the envy of 'ordinary' tailboat customers and onlookers.
|
The Chao Phraya River is Bangkok's lifeblood, and scattered along its banks are historical treasures like the Grand Palace complex and Wat Arun (The Temple of Dawn). It's at the latter, on the west bank of the river, where we make a stop for an insightful tour of the iconic temple with its central 'prang' (Khmer-style tower) flanked by four smaller 'prangs' on its four corners. These are ornately decorated by bits of porcelain and seashells. The charming tour guide offers fascinating information all along, before we continue to the Royal Barge Museum. Also on the Thonburi side of the Riverside, the magnificent ceremonial barges used in rare (Royal) river processions are on display here in all their glory.
|
For the rest of the leisurely morning our tailboat takes us up and down Thonburi's 'khlongs' (canals) - a top-up of chilled bubbly never less than a subtle hand gesture away - taking in remnants of yesteryear Bangkok... Potted plants adorning the facades of wooden houses on stilts, friendly waves from locals peacefully going about their Monday morning routines, washing drying in the warm sun, local temples, here and there signs of civilization like a satellite dish or mobile reception tower. Back at the hotel, it's a toss-up between spa privileges (discounts on pampering sessions), or a shopping spree at Gaysorn and Jim Thompson combined. For another chance to get chauffeured through Bangkok's midday roads, I waver the spa privileges without a blink or second thought...
Day 3: Delights from the Caspian Sea in bed!
If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, enjoying it in bed surely counts among one of the most decadent ways to celebrate a sunrise - especially if done in true lebua style! Champagne is by now quite obligatory; pink and perfectly matched for a smorgasbord of treats that is wheeled into the suite with a silent "Voila!" My eyes jump straight to the small tub of Petrossian Caviar from Russia's Caspian Sea (lovingly referred to as 'beluga' by socialites). The exotic sturgeon roe is best eaten on lightly buttered toast triangles of course, but a host of condiments are also set out to enhance taste to individual preference. The rest of the breakfast spread counts a choice of delicate pastries, cold cuts, cheese, fruit platter and hot breakfast - cooked to order.
|
Next up on the agenda is a choice between a Thai or Lebanese cooking class, a collaborative effort by lebua's celebrated chefs to impart with (some) cullinary secrets - allowing you to go away and impress friends and foe with your new-found knowledge. The crash course lasts between an hour or two, but offers a thorough induction into traditional and authentic cooking methods. I opted for the Thai course, which included all-time favourites like 'Yam Som O' (spicy pomelo salad), 'Pla Hima Thord Rad Prik' (snowfish in red curry paste), 'Tom Yum Goong' (spicy prawn soup), 'Gaeng Kiwe Wan Khae' (lamb in green curry) and, for dessert, 'Munn Geang Buad' (sweet potato in coconut milk).
|
With the chopping up of ingredients all done beforehand, I'm surprised at how quickly these dishes come together - and equally impressed with the certificate handed to me while I'm enjoying the fruits of this labour for lunch in the dining room of Cafe Mozu. Noteworthy too is that guests are escorted by the chef from their suite to the kitchen - the latter part offering a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse of this inner sanctum where award-winning cuisine see the light of day. (Note: As an alternative to the cooking class, a half-day sightseeing tour with picnic basket can also be arranged.)
|
The rest of the day is spent at leisure, in anticipation of sunset cocktails to follow later at Breeze, a stylish contemporary Asian restaurant on the 51st and 52nd floors. The spectacular setting and scene of the city and Riverside below exceed all expectations, matched by the choice of cocktails: Pomegrade Martini or Southeast Asian Martini, both of which are exclusive creations and perfectly alcohol-induced to leave you feeling just slightly tipsy. A variety of snacks are set out to nibble on - almost too gorgeous to devour... Crisp Wasabi Prawns (topped with beluga caviar), 'Pi Pa' duck in hoisin sauce served off the bone, Scallops 'Sew Mai' Dumplings wrapped in pumpkin skin, Almond-crusted Tiger Prawns served with lemon sauce, and Soft-shell Crab tossed with chili and garlic, served in fresh bamboo leaf. Aah, the joys of the 'high' life...
Day 4: Five-star finishing touches for VVIPs
Breakfast at Cafe Mozu with its indoor and outdoor seating overlooking the pool provides five-star finishing touches to an extraordinary experience - one that has, regrettably, come to an abrupt end. Sulk. The buffet-style continental and Asian breakfast fare is varied and scrumptious. Guests enjoying the 'Amazing Experience' are in for a little extra treat; a reserved table next to the pool with red roses, and extra-special VVIP service. And, it almost goes without saying, more bubbles. On check out, an entourage of friendly (and by now familiar) faces are lined up to express mutually sad goodbyes. Then it's off in the gleaming BMW for the last leg of this ultimate journey of good taste.
For anyone wanting to experience a five-star edge of Bangkok packaged into an experience that is unrivaled and authentic, this is it. Lebua at State Tower is a colossal monument of style, and the fine champagne that so generously flows here is probably also the most apt thing to compare it to.
Reviewed by: Francois Oosthuizen
Only available until June 30, 2008 - Book now!
The Price Tag: US$ 2,000 (see rates and conditions)
|
